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Charlotte Police Kill Man Who Appeared to Need Help

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An encounter over the weekend that ended with a former college football player dead and a police officer charged in his killing was set in motion when the man apparently sought help at a home after getting into a car accident.

A woman apparently heard the man, Jonathan A. Ferrell, 24, pounding on her front door in the early hours of Saturday. When she opened the door and did not recognize him, she called the police.

Officers responding to the call found Mr. Ferrell, who was unarmed, a short distance from the home, the police said. As they approached him, Mr. Ferrell ran toward the officers, who tried to stop him with a Taser. As Mr. Ferrell continued to move toward the officers, Officer Randall Kerrick fired his gun, hitting Mr. Ferrell several times. He died at the scene.

Mr. Ferrell, 24, played for Florida A & M in 2009 and 2010, college officials said Sunday. He had recently moved to North Carolina.

After initially calling the shooting “appropriate and lawful,” the Police Department issued a statement late Saturday saying that “the investigation showed that the subsequent shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive” and that Officer Kerrick “did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter.”

Officer Kerrick, 27, of Midland, turned himself in for booking on Saturday evening and was released on $50,000 bond, according to the Web site of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office. Officer Kerrick, who joined the police force in April 2011, was scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

The police were not expected to offer further details of the episode on Sunday, said Officer Keith Trietley, a department spokesman. The police report was not available.

Michael Smith, the athletic director at Florida A & M, said Mr. Ferrell had played the position of safety during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. “Our hearts and prayers go out to his family during their time of bereavement,” he said.